Player profile: David de Gea

Shirt Number: #1 | Date of Birth: 7 November 1990 | Place of Birth: Madrid, Spain | Nationality: Spanish
Player Position: Goalkeeper | 2014/2015: 43 apps, 14 clean sheets

BACKGROUND

David de Gea first joined Atletico Madrid at the age of 13, after his then coach lied to the club saying rival club Rayo Vallecano were in talks with the Spanish shotstopper. He worked his way up through the Atletico youth ranks and by training alone was noticed by Abel Resino, the manager at the time, before being invited to train with the first team as the third choice goalkeeper. He made his debut for the first team on 30th September 2009, when he was just 18. David at the time was the only available senior keeper. He given his La Liga debut three days later where he conceded a spot kick just 19 minutes in, however he rectified his mistake by saving the penalty. Poor form from the normal number one and the arrival of a new manager resulted in de Gea consistently being the first choice keeper. After two near faultless campaigns it was confirmed by Manchester United that they had agreed a deal in 2011 to bring the young keeper to Old Trafford for a British record fee for a keeper of £17.8 million.

STRENGTHS

As every football fan across Europe knows it is a struggle to think of a stronger keeper in terms of shot stopping and reflexes. This was displayed amazingly during the two matches against the two Merseyside teams at Old Trafford. After a superb save he then got back up to save a long range effort from Everton’s attack which, before he got a strong hard too it, looked destined to nestle in the top right corner of his net. These strengths were also shown against Liverpool, most spectacularly when Balotelli had an excellent chance to score. When that shot left Balotelli’s foot he must have been certain he was about to silence the Manc crowd, however de Gea had other ideas and pulled out a spectacular and acrobatic dive to tip his shot onto the bar and over for a corner.

WEAKNESSES

De Gea’s weakness is actually his strength. Despite obviously putting hours of effort into building up his muscle mass and practicing jumping against strikers, he still looks vulnerable when tested in the air. Obviously, as he is only young this something he has plenty of time to work on and perfect. Another weakness he appears to have is the inability to sign a new contract.

EXPECTATIONS

The main expectation currently from United fans is that he signs another long term contract, no matter how much he costs. Personally he will be hoping that the expectation to save United points will be lower due if the club do invest in the lack of defensive talent. He will be expected to continue his meteoric rise in the goalkeeping rankings and hopefully start to push Manuel Neuer for the title of best keeper in the world.